You are here

CC blanks Norwell in home finale

COLUMBIA CITY — The Columbia City boys’ soccer team closed out the home portion of its 2010 season with a 2-0 shutout win over Northeast Hoosier Conference foe Norwell in a game that saw the Eagles make the most of their opportunities and take increasing control as the game went on. The Eagles were on the defensive most of the first half, but when they did get an offensive opportunity they made the most of it. In a rush at the Norwell goal, senior Devin Rice took a short pass from midfielder Luke Wallace and hit a short shot from close, knocking the ball into the right hand corner of the goal at the 12:26 mark to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead that held up through the first half. “This was supposed to be our Senior Night, but that got moved to the Garrett game so this was it for the boys,” Eagle head coach Chris Bechtold said. “So they were almost spent before the game started, this being their final home game.” The Eagles game got stronger as the game wore on. In the second half Rice knocked in a left-footed shot with two Norwell defenders on him, scoring from about 25 yards out on the left hand side of the goal beating the keeper to the left corner. Rice’s goal at the 33:54 mark put the Eagles up 2-0 and seemed to spark the Eagles to take control of the contest. “We have really worked on our conditioning and we can wear teams down as the game goes on,” Bechtold said. The Eagles made several rushes at the Norwell goal including a couple of shots that went just over the crossbar before closing out the game with the 2-0 win. Six seniors played their last game at Max Gandy Athletic Field. The six Eagles seniors were: Devin Rice, Grant Wood, Austin Porter, Tyler Peterson, Jordan Esterline, Matt Marty. The win gives the Eagles a 4-3 record in the Northeast Hoosier Conference and squares their overall record at 8-8 going into sectional play. The Columbia City junior varsity came within six inches of a win. With a second left on the clock a long shot from the Eagles went just over the crossbar ending the game in a scoreless 0-0 tie. The Eagles will return to action Thursday when they travel to Homestead for first round sectional competition against Huntington North with the game beginning at 7 p.m.